99 Reasons You Should Never Buy a Shopsmith & 1 Reason Why You Should!

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Chad
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99 Reasons You Should Never Buy a Shopsmith & 1 Reason Why You Should!

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Watch it and defend the Shopsmith's name and reputation in the comments of the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTRqhDE ... e=youtu.be

I ask that you please discuss and comment in the comment section of the video. People like the one who made that video, wouldn't ever be able to hear from you on this forum. Thanks.
Chad Nevels
  • ---------------------------------------------------------------------
    1963 Shopsmith Mark V "Goldie" 1-1/8 hp Serial # 379185
    1980 Shopsmith Mark V 500
    1994 Shopsmith Mark V 510
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------
    1994 OKUMA LB15 II OSP7000
    2017 OKUMA LB3000 EXII SPACE TURN MY OSP P300LA
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Re: 99 Reasons You Should Never Buy a Shopsmith & 1 Reason Why You Should!

Post by bainin »

Its funny- I had come across that bear recently while looking at something unrelated to Shopsmith.

I couldn't focus on the content because that stupid bear and its poorly done voice-over matching kept drawing my attention. I concluded then that I would avoid the bear in the future.

Now, I have yet another reason to ignore him :)

It good to evaluate the SS against whats available in an honest fashion, but Id be hard pressed to convince myself that I need professional grade separate tools to do the little project stuff I do knowing that most of the limitations come from me and not the tools I use.

b
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Re: 99 Reasons You Should Never Buy a Shopsmith & 1 Reason Why You Should!

Post by jsburger »

bainin wrote: Mon Jan 04, 2021 1:44 pm Its funny- I had come across that bear recently while looking at something unrelated to Shopsmith.

I couldn't focus on the content because that stupid bear and its poorly done voice-over matching kept drawing my attention. I concluded then that I would avoid the bear in the future.

Now, I have yet another reason to ignore him :)

It good to evaluate the SS against whats available in an honest fashion, but Id be hard pressed to convince myself that I need professional grade separate tools to do the little project stuff I do knowing that most of the limitations come from me and not the tools I use.

b
I started to watch it but after about 2 minutes I had enough.
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Ed in Tampa
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Re: 99 Reasons You Should Never Buy a Shopsmith & 1 Reason Why You Should!

Post by Ed in Tampa »

bainin wrote: Mon Jan 04, 2021 1:44 pm Its funny- I had come across that bear recently while looking at something unrelated to Shopsmith.

I couldn't focus on the content because that stupid bear and its poorly done voice-over matching kept drawing my attention. I concluded then that I would avoid the bear in the future.

Now, I have yet another reason to ignore him :)

It good to evaluate the SS against whats available in an honest fashion, but Id be hard pressed to convince myself that I need professional grade separate tools to do the little project stuff I do knowing that most of the limitations come from me and not the tools I use.

b
Poor done voice over-matching???? Maybe gimmicky but not poorly done! I have been fascinated with how well he is able to sync the bears movements including the mouth movement with what he is saying. Never seen it out of sync, I have no idea how hard or easy that is to do but he does it perfectly.

This guy loves Harbor Freight and gives a lot of information on which tools to buy and which to avoid.
He also does shows on exceptional tool buys from nearly every seller. He just did a show listing some tool deals from Lowe’s and others where tools were heavily discounted in some cases more than 50%.
If you are a tool addict he is a good source of info. His reviews rarely mimic words if a tool is junk he calls it junk if it is a great buy he also states that.

So far I tend to agree with most of his calls, even this one on the ShopSmith where most of what he said was right on but with a few exceptions or observations.

However to me the biggest problem with the Shopsmith is their resell value. I have a garage full of Shopsmith tools with an estimated cost when new, as I bought them, of over $3000. They are still in excellent condition, I have kept them compulsively clean, well adjusted and very well maintained with latest upgrades. Yet If I were to sell them today I would probably only be able to get what I paid for one of the SPTs. That is about 1/10 th of what I paid, worst investment ever!

Tell me another major tool on the market which if bought new and then resold would only sell for less than 1/10 of the original purchase price, even with it in “still in box” or “ like new” condition.

He does a live show with his wife on weekends which I avoid like the plague.
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Re: 99 Reasons You Should Never Buy a Shopsmith & 1 Reason Why You Should!

Post by RFGuy »

Ed in Tampa wrote: Tue Jan 05, 2021 10:02 am Poor done voice over-matching???? Maybe gimmicky but not poorly done! I have been fascinated with how well he is able to sync the bears movements including the mouth movement with what he is saying. Never seen it out of sync, I have no idea how hard or easy that is to do but he does it perfectly.

This guy loves Harbor Freight and gives a lot of information on which tools to buy and which to avoid.
He also does shows on exceptional tool buys from nearly every seller. He just did a show listing some tool deals from Lowe’s and others where tools were heavily discounted in some cases more than 50%.
If you are a tool addict he is a good source of info. His reviews rarely mimic words if a tool is junk he calls it junk if it is a great buy he also states that.

So far I tend to agree with most of his calls, even this one on the ShopSmith where most of what he said was right on but with a few exceptions or observations.

However to me the biggest problem with the Shopsmith is their resell value. I have a garage full of Shopsmith tools with an estimated cost when new, as I bought them, of over $3000. They are still in excellent condition, I have kept them compulsively clean, well adjusted and very well maintained with latest upgrades. Yet If I were to sell them today I would probably only be able to get what I paid for one of the SPTs. That is about 1/10 th of what I paid, worst investment ever!

Tell me another major tool on the market which if bought new and then resold would only sell for less than 1/10 of the original purchase price, even with it in “still in box” or “ like new” condition.

He does a live show with his wife on weekends which I avoid like the plague.
Thanks Ed. Yeah I agree with you. I had seen his channel a few times before and was able to catch one or two good power tool deals because of him. The talking bear is kind of hokey, but then there are so many tool review channels on YouTube that I can see why someone does this to get attention for their content. Too true about Shopsmith resell value. It is a testament to their longevity and mass appeal at one point in time. As a result, unfortunately it is a buyer's market with supply typically well in excess of demand. I think I added it up at one point and between my Mark V, all the SPT's and accessories, I think I am like $10k into Shopsmith having purchased mine only 2 decades ago directly from them. It is disconcerting to know that I can't sell any of it for a reasonable price, not that I am in the market to sell right now.

P.S. Didn't know the talking bear had a weekend show with his wife. I am scared to watch it now after having seen the bear. Seeing his face now might throw me off! :)
📶RF Guy

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Re: 99 Reasons You Should Never Buy a Shopsmith & 1 Reason Why You Should!

Post by DLB »

My takeaway from the bear's video is that in its opinion the SS makes an adequate vertical drill press and they are cheaper than alternative used DPs. The footprint is kind of big but one can either modify it as a dedicated DP or turn the rest of it into a bench for ones collection of HF bench top tools. And that the SS is generally not good for other things unless you are the 'rare' individual that has no room for tools. If we think that is a reasonable review we shouldn't be confused as to the low resale value.

Those that I know of that have a Mark dedicated vertical DP have multiple Marks. I presume that those folks don't agree with the bear either.

I'm not suggesting I agree with the bears message in any way. I was curious enough to watch about half of another of its videos, similar message but only ten reasons and it was about Milwaukee power tools. Half of that one was about all I could handle. And I see there's another on DeWalt. I'm confident I don't or wouldn't agree with the message in these either.

- David
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Re: 99 Reasons You Should Never Buy a Shopsmith & 1 Reason Why You Should!

Post by twistsol »

Windows vs Mac,
iPhone vs Android
Shopsmith vs everything else
Ryobi BT3000 vs real table saws
Harbor Freight is too cheap and Festool is too expensive.
Ginger vs Mary Ann

These are debates that will never be settled. For me, Mac, iPone, Shopsmith, SawStop, Festool, and Mary Ann. I really don't much care what other people think and there's no benefit for me to try to change their minds.
Thanks much,

Chris Phelps
Cheap tools are too expensive
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jsburger
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Re: 99 Reasons You Should Never Buy a Shopsmith & 1 Reason Why You Should!

Post by jsburger »

twistsol wrote: Tue Jan 05, 2021 8:01 pm Windows vs Mac,
iPhone vs Android
Shopsmith vs everything else
Ryobi BT3000 vs real table saws
Harbor Freight is too cheap and Festool is too expensive.
Ginger vs Mary Ann

These are debates that will never be settled. For me, Mac, iPone, Shopsmith, SawStop, Festool, and Mary Ann. I really don't much care what other people think and there's no benefit for me to try to change their minds.
I certainly don't care what other people think about my opinions. Of course you are not going to change the "Bears" opinion. To me it is a stupid way to present your opinions.

I have a shop full of stand alone tools. Powermatic PM 2000 table saw, Powermatic 6" long bed jointer, Powermatic 14" band saw, Performax 16/32 drum sander. However, I have a MK7 Power Pro, a dedicated MK-V Drill press, a SS stand alone Teal scroll saw, a MK-V shorty, a SS power station, a SS band saw on a power stand, a SS stand alone over arm pin router and a SS Pro Planer.

Everything in the shop gets used all the time.

Not to mention the 5 Model 10ER's I have.
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Re: 99 Reasons You Should Never Buy a Shopsmith & 1 Reason Why You Should!

Post by JPG »

Ah the scourge of having too large of a shop building! :D







I should be so lucky! :cool:
╔═══╗
╟JPG ╢
╚═══╝

Goldie(Bought New SN 377425)/4" jointer/6" beltsander/12" planer/stripsander/bandsaw/powerstation /Scroll saw/Jig saw /Craftsman 10" ras/Craftsman 6" thicknessplaner/ Dayton10"tablesaw(restoredfromneighborstrashpile)/ Mark VII restoration in 'progress'/ 10
E[/size](SN E3779) restoration in progress, a 510 on the back burner and a growing pile of items to be eventually returned to useful life. - aka Red Grange
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Re: 99 Reasons You Should Never Buy a Shopsmith & 1 Reason Why You Should!

Post by RFGuy »

Here's a video from a self professed metalworking guy giving a rebuttal to the Den of Tools video. Kind of ironic since he states in the video that he does very little woodworking, yet felt he had to discuss this?!?!

99 Reasons You "Should" Buy a Shopsmith & 1 Reason Why You Should Not!
📶RF Guy

Mark V 520 (Bought New '98) | 4" jointer | 6" beltsander | 12" planer | bandsaw | router table | speed reducer | univ. tool rest
Porter Cable 12" Compound Miter Saw | Rikon 8" Low Speed Bench Grinder w/CBN wheels | Jessem Clear-Cut TS™ Stock Guides
Festool (Emerald): DF 500 Q | RO 150 FEQ | OF 1400 EQ | TS 55 REQ | CT 26 E
DC3300 | Shopvac w/ClearVue CV06 Mini Cyclone | JDS AirTech 2000 | Sundstrom PAPR | Dylos DC1100 Pro particulate monitor
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